October

We had a visit from Grandpa and Grandma Klawiter in October! They made their way all the way from warm California to cold Minnesota with a few stops in between. We always look forward to seeing Grandpa and Grandma and wish the drive was a bit shorter! Here is a picture of the four generations. Of course Adina is smiling nice for the picture.


The next three pictures are of Oliver working hard in therapy. The picture of him sitting alone was the first and only time he has done that. It was a quick one, two, three, quick take the pic! Small, tiny step, huge achievement. Yay Oli! He is one hard worker!




Adina blowing the candles out on her first cake. We had a little family party and a bigger party later. Happy Birthday Adina!



Godmommy Martha and Mr. Oliver enjoying the lovin!


Opening presents with a little help from the boys.


Adina and Oliver on Halloween. Adina is Tinkerbell and Oliver is a boy in a tu-tu. Adina thought he needed something on! The joy of having an older sister pick out your clothes!


Adina put her costume on and said, "Now I can fly!" Oh boy, not again. We had to have a talk that her wings were only pretend!


Adina and a new friend.


Tinkerbell had to be winterized for a night out in Minnesota.


Mr. Monkey (and his dad), Pumkin Man, Batman, and Tinkerbell.


Cuties on the couch. Never easy to get this many kids to look and smile. They had one thing on the brain. CANDY!


Adina and cousin Kali Rose who was a butterfly.


It was a fun and busy October that flew by. I wish I could say it went without any low spots but this was just our month and now it is time to make November great! After Oliver was in the hospital we temporarily thought his seizures were under control. He soon started to have them again. He seems to be changing a bit in the way he displays them, or adding on different types. We raised the meds again, did okay, and then one night Oliver woke up with the highest scream I have ever heard. I ran in just in time to catch a seizure and one more after (both less than 3 minutes). He became increasingly irritable, we could not do anything to calm him. So we just rocked him while he screamed. Now came the hard part. Oliver of course can't tell us what hurts so the neurologist was not sure if he was having more seizures or irritable from the Keppra. Some kids just don't react well to this med, the only way to know was to increase the dose again. If he became more angry, the problem was the med. Seems easy. We had three days of pure Hell to be honest. It was the medication, Oliver screamed for almost 24 hours straight, only sleeping for about 2 hours one night. I was so frustrated, not at Oliver, but with myself because I could not figure it out or help him. Friday we lowered his dose to stop the reaction and tomorrow (Monday), we will be in touch with the Neurologist to determine the new medication. Whew! This whole seizure business has been a huge learning experience and just when we think we have it figured out it changes.
We are appealing the rejected nursing care again. Now that his Epilepsy is somewhat out of control it should help our case. We have learned that getting help for the disabled comes with many hoops to jump through and a whole lot of needed patience. It is this way for every parent trying to get services for their child, not just us. So, we just take a breath, a big one! We will keep you posted. I know this was the mother of posts! A lot happened this month. Oliver is strong, much stronger than we know. I asked Adina one day if she ever gets angry with how much Oliver screams, because it was overwhelming. She was like, "No mommy, it's fine, because I love Oliber." (Adina calls Oliver, Oliber.) He is now back to his happy self, hopefully the new medication works well.
We still have not received the H1N1 vaccine, it is frustrating but what do you do. So we are still keeping the kids away from everything. Halloween was Adina's, "Get out of Jail Free" pass.